My favorite sage once told me "better look out" else you won't "see" :-) This is a wanderer's wanderlust !!, an attempt to navigate through the omnipresent urban blindness, albeit without any kind compass, and yet, inadvertently and magically, stumble upon the ever elusive truth.

Sunday, September 09, 2012

Art can obviously be different strokes for different folks….and yet, we somehow crowdsource a view of what constitutes “good art”.

Yesterday, Raavan and I went for his first Hindi-English play (yes, he has learnt enough of those to goto a play….in Sinhalese, he can direct a play !!).

The play was especially meant for someone like Raavan, who is just coming to grips with a culture/a language….and YET!!

There were a few things fundamentally wrong with the play. Lets ennumerate some of them:

1) It was self-indulgent : Well, so was Jobs, but he ended up changing the world. When self-indulgence, becomes a complex game, (like the one played by James Joyce….his fiction requires a person to seep into his mind, instead of his characters….and that too me…is someone else foie de gras…and not mine!!)

2) It was shallow : Don’t assume because you see layers in your writing that others will….If you are good actors, but bad writers, get a good writer.

3) Invest in props : A live act relies on props, actors and sound to convey the mood. The play yesterday was devoid of props, the actors “smiled” even while supposedly fighting….and music was unfortunately absent.

4) Emote : Raavan is new to culture and language, he is not new to human emotions. If a live act cannot convey emotion, then please stop it….do a canned one.

5) Involve : The live act has an advantage, the arena is shared…..the key word being shared…..so involve your audience. Consider them as part of the act.

6) Come out of the closet : In my bathroom, I think I sing better than Dave Matthews, but I am sensible enough to know that in reality I don’t. Don’t thrust your art on someone, if it is still raw. Even if you do share, do it in a non-active mode – like YouTube, which I can choose to switch off, the minute I SwitchOff!!

Enough said….

Someday I hope to write some great stuff. Till then you choose whether you want to read my personal stuff art at this blog!!

"My kick the bucket" list

** 1. Scale Everest.** 2. Bike down to Leh3. Publish a work of fiction.** 4. Run a 42k Marathon.5. Do a 3 month Vipaasna course6. Motor down to Leh7. Visit the Golden Temple8. Watch a Roger Waters Concert9. Write a book of poems (not necessarily publish)

(** refers to items which the defeatist in me feels I shall never achieve.....)